Following the mouth-watering news that Judas Priest will release the new album 'Redeemer of Souls' in July, frontman Rob Halford will be undergoing a few small repairs to get himself fully fighting fit for the event.

Halford told ABC News Radio exclusively that he had back surgery last year to help shore up a spinal column that had weathered many a Heavy-Metal mile. But that's not the only part of the singer that needs some attention - he has an umbilical hernia that he intends to have repaired not because it gives him pain but because, "It looks like the alien just burst forth!"

Halford says, "My doctors always said, 'We can take care of it,' and I said, 'I'll get around to it.' [The doctor said,] 'If it's not giving you any discomfort then you should leave it as it is,' but it's not very appealing to look at, is it?"

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Rob also says he's resigned himself to the surgery, and manages to keep a good attitude about his advancing age. "That's life," he says. "The wonderful thing about Heavy Metal music is that it's immortal. The music is immortal, but the creators are not bestowed with that attribute."